Chapter 38 part 2

As a first-time tiger mother, her heart was filled with trepidation about the unknown. This restless anxiety made it impossible for her to relax and enjoy herself as carefreely as before.  

Everyone also judged from her behavior that she must be a newly adult tiger. This was because experienced mother tigers who had already given birth would often appear relatively calm when facing labor, but this big cat was not like that. Except when she was eating, her behavior showed no signs of maturity.

In particular, mother tigers will consciously store food during their late pregnancy to consume after giving birth, but this big cat had no such awareness. She would often only store the leftovers after she was full. However, if Kong Bi insisted on taking it away, she would have no reaction, not even making an effort to keep it.

This indicates that it considers itself full, and the remaining food is no longer as important.  

Tigers in the wild behave similarly—when food is abundant, they may leave behind prey that is less tasty or unappealing rather than dragging all the leftovers back to their dens. These remnants then become “gift of nature” encountered by other animals.

However, pregnant tigresses are far more meticulous. They understand that once their cubs are born, they may be unable to leave the den for at least five or six days, if not longer. Therefore, even prey they would normally avoid, or that has begun to spoil, is not discarded. Survival in the wild is tough, and during such critical times, even apex predators must practice frugality.  

This big cat obviously hasn’t suffered losses in this regard so it lacks such awareness.  

This is a young tigress.

Therefore, Kong Bi decided to call it Miaomiao.

Naturally, Miao Miao had no way to object to this name—otherwise, it might have preferred something more fierce and domineering.  

Miao Miao was a very clever tiger and quickly understood that Kong Bi was calling her whenever she said that name. She would respond promptly, never pretending not to hear even if she did.  

This made her far more virtuous than certain little cats! The Coal Boss was a tsundere who played hard to get, and Chu Chu would betray anyone for food—but Miao Miao? She was the epitome of feline virtue!  

Miao Miao’s diligent efforts also made Kong Bi grow even more concerned about her impending delivery, wondering whether she should bring her to the nursery. 

Generally, many animal cubs born in zoos are taken to the nursery shortly after birth. Not every animal possesses strong maternal instincts, and first-time mothers often accidentally crush their young. The incubators in the nursery provide a safe environment for them to survive their most fragile stage.  

After some consideration, however, Kong Bi decided against it. With only two tiger cubs, the risk should be minimal. And if anything did go wrong under her watch, even modern technology wouldn’t be able to fix it.  

As everyone waited anxiously, the moment finally arrived on a stormy night. Amidst the rumble of thunder, Miao Miao went into labor.  

The thunderclap startled Kong Bi so badly that, for a fleeting moment, she wondered if some legendary demon was about to be born from Miao Miao’s womb. But she quickly regained her composure—this was just a coincidence.  

In an age of dwindling spiritual energy, no birth could possibly cause such a dramatic stir.  

Miao Miao paid no attention to the roaring thunder—having endured many extreme storms in the wild, this was nothing to frighten her. Besides, the intense pain left her no room to focus on anything else.  

With a hoarse, helpless growl, she instinctively leaned against Kong Bi for support, lifting one hind leg. The pain had struck so suddenly and fiercely, unlike anything she had ever experienced.  

Fortunately, Kong Bi’s presence kept her from feeling too lost or afraid.  

Her white belly rose and fell with each breath as she stared, curious yet tense, at her hindquarters. She could sense something was about to emerge—an overwhelming feeling that strangely soothed her unease, replacing it with excitement and an entirely new, indescribable emotion.  

Miaomiao felt this was somewhat like the way her mother looked at her and the feeling when her mother called her before she was fully grown.

She looked down at her lower abdomen. Amniotic fluid had wet her clean fur, and a cloudy yellow amniotic sac encased a tiny, fragile head that had emerged.

She couldn’t help but adjust her posture, looking at the cub with curiosity and a hint of timidity.

The translucent amniotic sac made it look somewhat ugly. Through the cloudy yellow membrane, she could see the cub’s interlaced black stripes, its ears pressed tightly against its head, lying motionless on the blanket.

Miaomiao stared blankly at it.

This… this is what she gave birth to?

Why does it look like this (っ°Д°)っ

It’s too tiger-frightening!

Kong Bi looked a little anxious. These days, she has learned from everyone how to deliver a baby. It is basically the same as delivering a cat or dog. After the cub is born, Miaomiao is responsible for stripping off the afterbirth and eating it, and then relying on Miaomiao’s tongue to rub the cub’s body to promote their blood circulation, and then feeding.

Now, Miaomiao didn’t even take the first step.

This is a common problem for new mothers. Generally speaking, if a tiger can survive its first litter, it is already a qualified mother. After all, the first time is always a mess, and it will not be until the second time that it will be familiar with it.

Seeing this, Kong Bi immediately grabbed the little tiger cub and handed it to Miaomiao. Monsters are not so easy to die, but if they are left alone, maybe this little demon tiger will be suffocated to death.

With Kong Bi’s actions, Miaomiao woke up from a dream and was startled. The belated maternal instinct came late, making it subconsciously bite Kong Bi’s hand and instinctively growl.

Kong Bi rotated her wrist, bringing the tiger cub closer to her. The large tiger head was extremely close to the cub, and Miaomiao whimpered in bewilderment. Fortunately, stimulated by Kong Bi’s earlier actions, Miaomiao finally reacted, extending her tongue and retracting her barbs to begin licking the little tiger cub all over.

Freed from the constraints of the amniotic sac, the little demon tiger’s breathing immediately became smooth. It began to move its limbs frantically in Kong Bi’s hands. Kong Bi reached out and placed it down. Before Miaomiao could lower her head to nudge it towards her belly, the little demon tiger spontaneously began to crawl with its limbs, which seemed almost foreign to it, and successfully suckled the delicious milk that was so vital to it.

Newborn tiger cubs’ bones are not yet well-developed, so they can only crawl laboriously on the ground. But this little demon tiger was different; it could already stand upright and walk on all fours. However, being newly born, it was clearly not yet accustomed to its four legs, with each leg moving in a different direction.

This strange way of moving didn’t frighten Miaomiao. She looked lovingly at her firstborn. The little one was clearly very energetic, which was excellent. Weak offspring, even if successfully born, rarely survive to adulthood, but this little one was strong and healthy enough.

Kong Bi was also very satisfied seeing the little demon tiger’s almost non-existent demonic aura.

It was excessively healthy, well worth all the blood she had shed.

The little demon tiger had no idea what this meant to its mother and grandmother. It strutted around while nursing, and seemingly sensing their gazes, it even took a moment to tilt its head back and let out a tender roar.

“Awoo!” —

The tiger milk it hadn’t yet swallowed immediately flowed out of its little mouth, staining its damp fur.

“Miaomiao wasn’t angry at it for wasting food, and still looked at it gently, lowering her head to lick it.

Then…

Miaomiao’s eyes widened.

Miaomiao’s tiger face showed shock.

Delicious!

She wanted to drink too!

Miaomiao lowered her head, and with a nudge of her large tiger head, she immediately pushed the little demon tiger aside and buried her face, trying to suckle.

Little demon tiger: ?

Kong Bi: “???”

“Miaomiao, what are you doing?!”

“Waaah—!” The little demon tiger, unable to get milk, also scurried around anxiously, constantly letting out hungry roars.

Only then did Miaomiao realize she had a cub to nurse. She quickly extended her tongue to lick her lips, used her tiger head to nudge the little demon tiger back, looked at Kong Bi with sparkling eyes, rolled over to expose her belly on the ground, and let out a “awoo” towards her.

Mom, come and eat too!

Kong Bi: “……?””

At first, Kong Bi didn’t understand what Miao Miao meant, until it licked its abdomen and looked at Kong Bi expectantly.

Kong Bi was a little touched at the same time. ‘Was Miao Miao seriously this sweet?’ What kind of caring little cotton jacket is this?

However, she still refused Miaomiao, rubbing its tiger head a little: “This is for your children to eat. Your child is a big eater; maybe I’ll even have to find a wet nurse for you later.”

Although she was curious about tiger milk, Kong Bi wasn’t so immoral as to snatch the cubs’ food. Besides, she had tasted cat milk before, and to be honest, it didn’t taste very good to humans – it was both fishy and bland, far inferior to the carefully processed milk and other dairy products presented to humans on the market today.

“Mrow?” 

Miaomiao didn’t understand. It lowered its head to look at its cub and then resumed licking, vigorously grooming the tiger cub until its skin turned pink. Newborn cubs need their mothers to stimulate them like this from time to time to promote blood circulation. That’s why it’s always difficult for people to raise underage kittens they find, after all, while they can keep the kittens warm and feed them to promote bowel movements, it’s hard to replicate the blood circulation stimulation.

For fragile cubs, just this difference is enough to make them unable to survive.

After eating and drinking its fill, the little demon tiger began to snore soundly. Its eyes were still closed; normally, they wouldn’t open until about a week later. Before that, the mother tiger would stay by its side without leaving for even a moment, only choosing to go out hunting after the cub’s eyes had opened.

The cubs before their eyes open are at their most vulnerable, while cubs after their eyes open can barely be considered to have the initial ability to survive – at least they won’t become critically endangered and cry loudly due to brief hunger.